Balzac - lost illusions. Lost Illusions Balzac - Lost Illusions

Lucien Chardon was born in the depths of the French province of Angouleme. His father, an ordinary apothecary, during the revolution saved a certain aristocrat, Mademoiselle du Rubempre, from execution, and thus became the husband of this noble person. From this marriage, the son Lucien and his sister Eva were born, both, growing up, become as attractive in appearance as their mother.

The Chardon family lives in utter poverty, but Lucien is helped by his closest friend David Sechard, who also ambitiously dreams of great feats and achievements. However, Lucien, unlike his comrade, has amazing beauty and abilities for poetry, so David always tries to modestly stay next to a friend, without attracting special attention to himself. Young Chardon arouses interest and sympathy among the secular lady Louise de Bergeton, who begins to patronize the young man in every possible way, regularly inviting him to visit her, although representatives of the local aristocratic society do not like this.

More than others, Lucien is opposed by a certain Baron du Chatelet, a man of rather low birth, who, nevertheless, managed to move up the career ladder and connects his plans for the future with Madame de Bergeton. At the same time, David falls passionately in love with Lucien's sister Eva, and the girl reciprocates his feelings. However, in terms of money, Sechar cannot be called an enviable groom, because his father had previously sold their family printing house for practically nothing to eternal competitors, brothers by the name of Cuente. True, David still does not lose hope of becoming rich, he is constantly busy developing a means for issuing the cheapest possible paper.

One day, one of the Angouleme nobles accidentally sees Lucien kneeling in front of Louise, this gossip immediately becomes known to the whole city. Madame de Bergeton forces her elderly husband to challenge this nobleman to a duel, but after these events, the woman firmly decides to move to Paris and invites Lucien to go along with her. Chardon willingly uses the opportunity to move to the capital, not even staying for the marriage of his sister and best friend. David and Eva give him all the funds they have, for which Lucien must spend at least two years in Paris.

Upon arrival in the capital, Chardon and his beloved part almost immediately. One of Louise's relatives, a well-born Marquise, who enjoys influence in Parisian society, is ready to patronize her, but demands the immediate removal of the ridiculous provincial youth who is with Madame de Bergeton. In turn, Lucien sees much more spectacular and interesting women in the capital than his girlfriend. He is already inclined to find another mistress for himself, but thanks to the Marquise and Baron du Chatelet, who has connections in the metropolitan society, he quickly finds himself completely expelled from the society he desires.

Lucien is trying to publish collections of his poems, he even has a written novel, but he is immediately convinced that there are many such unknown writers in Paris, and it is absolutely impossible for a novice author to break through without serious patrons. The young man squanders all his money in a short time, after which he is forced to constantly be in a wretched rented room, where he diligently reads, writes and reflects on his own life path.

The young man has new acquaintances, including Daniel d'Artez and Etienne Lousteau. Lucien sincerely likes Daniel, a talented writer who devotes all his time and energy to creativity. There are excellent relations between d'Artez's comrades, friends support each other in every possible way both in moments of success and in periods of failure. However, all these people are very poor, while Chardon dreams of fame and solid funds. As a result, he finds a common language with Lusteau, an unscrupulous and seasoned journalist who has long since parted with any illusions.

With the help of Etienne, Lucien gets a job in a liberal newspaper, and his colleagues, wanting to avenge the young man's previous insults, begin to persecute the Baron du Chatelet and Madame de Bergeton in their publication. Although these people are presented in feuilletons under other names, the public can easily understand who they are really talking about. Chardon also notices how much writers, even the most gifted, depend on the favor of critics. Soon he himself is assigned to write a “destructive” article about the book of one of the famous authors, and Lucien does an excellent job with this task, although deep down he considers this work wonderful.

Soon, the former provincial forgets about the difficult, penniless times, his service in the editorial office is well paid, besides, a charming young actress named Coralie falls in love with him. This girl, like all her stage companions, enjoys the patronage of the wealthy merchant Camuso. Etienne Lousteau, without any embarrassment, resorts to the money of his beloved Florine, Lucien behaves in the same way, although he feels some sense of shame at the same time. Coralie buys luxurious outfits for her lover, and on the Champs Elysees, Louise de Bergeton and her relative, the Marquise d'Espard, are simply shocked at how the former uncouth native of Angouleme now looks and holds.

The ladies decide to destroy Lucien without fail and deprive him of any chance of further success. Their friend, the Duke de Retoret, tells the young man that in order to carry the aristocratic surname du Rubampre, which was maiden by Lucien's mother, he should go to the royalist camp, leaving the oppositionists. Chardon agrees with this opinion, unaware that a real conspiracy has already been drawn up against him. Florine, Etienne's girlfriend, wants to surpass her constant rival Coralie, Lousteau is extremely jealous of him, the writer, whose book Lucien sharply criticized, harbors a grudge against him, and all these people seek to settle scores with the novice journalist.

Coralie, having parted with her patron, and trying in every possible way to please her lover, is completely ruined, the girl falls ill from grief and loses her job in the theater. At the same time, Chardon is forced to come out with sharp attacks on the novel of his former comrade Daniel, he has no other way to ensure Coralie's successful performances. D'Artez does not make claims to Lucien, but his friend named Chrétien challenges Chardon to a duel and inflicts a rather severe wound on him.

Lucien's girlfriend Coralie faithfully looks after him, but these two have absolutely no money left, all the property of the actress is subject to an inventory, and Chardon is threatened with imprisonment due to debts. In desperation, the young man forges the signature of his son-in-law, David Sechard, on the bills, which gives him and his girlfriend some reprieve.

Soon the actress dies at the age of 19, and Lucien has to write funny couplets to pay for her funeral, he no longer has a single sou. Having lost Corali, he is forced to go home on foot, believing that he has absolutely nothing to do in Paris. At the entrance to Angouleme, he meets his former lover Louise, who managed to become a widow and become the wife of the Baron du Chatelet.

At home, Lucien learns that David is in a difficult situation, he can be put under arrest at any moment. His old competitors, the Cuente brothers, bought back the bills forged by David's old friend, and presented for payment a huge sum of 15 thousand francs for Séchard. The stingy father refused to help his son, despite all the requests of David's wife Eve. Because of these circumstances, the mother and sister extremely coldly meet Lucien, who was previously dearly beloved by them.

Chardon tries to help out his son-in-law, but due to his accidental mistake, Sechar falls into the hands of the police directly on the street. Competitors promise to forgive debts if he gives them all the rights to issue cheap paper. David willingly agrees to this deal, after being released, he and Eva buy a small house, intending to live peacefully and quietly from now on, without any new experiments.

However, after the arrest of Sechard, Lucien feels that the closest people, his sister and mother, look at him with hatred, and the young man intends to commit suicide, seeing no other way out for himself. On the bank of the river, the young man meets a certain clergyman who persuades him to at least postpone suicide. According to the churchman, one should take revenge on those who so ruthlessly expelled Lucien from the capital. In addition, this man, who introduced himself as Abbot Carlos Herrera, promises Chardon to pay all his debts, and the young man promises devoted service throughout his life to the mysterious savior.

Very often, during the summer holidays, they are asked to read the necessary works, and the list of what has been read sometimes reaches unprecedented sizes. Many, indeed, all students do not willingly want to spend their summer time reading books. Just for you, we have added a summary of the work Balzac - Lost Illusions. After reading this material, you can easily understand the essence and meaning of the book and you do not even have to read the full format of the book. On this page you can read a summary of the work

Balzac - Lost Illusions

To harbor illusions is the fate of provincials. Lucien Chardon was from Angouleme. His father, a simple apothecary, in 1793 miraculously saved the maiden de Rubempre, the last representative of this noble family, from the scaffold, and thereby received the right to marry her. Their children, Lucien and Eva, inherited the wondrous beauty of their mother. Chardonnay lived in great need, but Lucien was helped to his feet by his best friend, the owner of the printing house, David Sechard. These young men were born for great things, but Lucien overshadowed David with the brilliance of talents and dazzling appearance - he was a handsome man and a poet. The local socialite Madame de Bergeton drew attention to him and began to invite him to her house, to the great displeasure of the arrogant local nobility. More than others, Baron Sixte du Chatelet was vicious - a man without roots, but who managed to make a career and had his own views on Louise de Bergeton, who gave a clear preference to a talented young man. And David passionately fell in love with Eve, and she answered him in return, guessing in this thick-set typographer a deep mind and an elevated soul. True, David's financial situation was unenviable: his own father actually robbed him, selling the old printing house at a clearly inflated price and losing the patent for publishing a newspaper to competitors, the Cuente brothers, for a hefty bribe. However, David hoped to get rich by discovering the secret of making cheap paper. This was how things stood when an event occurred that decided the fate of Lucien: one of the local nobles, having found him on his knees before Louise, trumpeted this throughout the city and ran into a duel - Madame de Bergeton ordered the obedient old husband to punish the offender. But from that moment on, life in Angouleme was disgusting to her: she decided to leave for Paris, taking the charming Lucien with her. The ambitious young man neglected his sister's wedding, knowing that everyone would forgive him. Eva and David gave their brother the last money - he had to live on them for two years.

In the capital, the paths of Lucien and Madame de Bergeton diverged - provincial love, unable to withstand the first contact with Paris, quickly grew into hatred. The Marquise d'Espard, one of the most influential ladies of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, did not refuse the patronage of her cousin, but demanded the removal of the ridiculous youth, whom she had the stupidity to bring with her. Lucien, comparing his "divine" Louise with secular beauties, was already ready to cheat on her - but then, through the efforts of the Marquise and the ubiquitous Sixte du Chatelet, he was expelled from decent society with disgrace. The unfortunate poet had high hopes for the collection of sonnets "Daisies" and the historical novel "The Archer of Charles IX" - it turned out that Paris is full of its rhymes and hacks, and therefore it is extremely difficult for a novice author to break through. Having foolishly squandered all the money, Lucien hides in a hole and begins to work: he reads a lot, writes, and thinks.

In a cheap student canteen, he meets two young people - Daniel d'Artez and Etienne Lousteau. The fate of the weak-willed poet depends on what choice he makes. At first, Lucien is attracted to Daniel, a brilliant writer who works in silence, despising worldly fuss and momentary glory. Daniel's friends, albeit with hesitation, accept Lucien into their circle. Equality reigns in this chosen society of thinkers and artists: young men selflessly help each other and warmly welcome any good luck of a brother. But they are all in poverty, and Lucien is attracted by the brilliance of power and wealth. And he converges with Etienne - a seasoned journalist who has long parted with illusions about loyalty and honor.

Thanks to the support of Lousteau and his own talent, Lucien becomes an employee of a liberal newspaper. He quickly learns the power of the press: as soon as he mentions his grievances, his new friends begin a campaign of ruthless persecution - from issue to issue they amuse the public with stories about the adventures of "Otter" and "Heron", in which everyone easily recognizes Madame de Bergeton and Sixte du Chatelet. Before Lucien's eyes, the gifted novelist Raoul Nathan bows low to the influential critic Émile Blondet. Journalists are courted in every possible way behind the scenes of theaters - the failure or success of the play depends on the review of the performance. The most terrible thing happens when newspapermen attack their victim with the whole pack - a person who has fallen under such shelling is doomed. Lucien quickly learns the rules of the game: he is assigned to scribble a "peddling" article about Nathan's new book - and he lives up to the expectations of his colleagues, although he himself considers this novel excellent. From now on, poverty is over: the poet is well paid, and the young actress Coralie falls passionately in love with him. Like all her friends, she has a wealthy patron, the silk merchant Camuso. Lousteau, who lives with Florina, uses other people's money without a twinge of conscience - Lucien follows his example, although he is well aware that it is shameful to be supported by the actress. Coralie dresses her lover from head to toe. The hour of celebration comes - on the Champs Elysees everyone admires the beautiful, exquisitely dressed Lucien. The Marquise d'Espard and Madame Bergeton are stunned by this miraculous transformation, and the young man is finally confirmed in the correctness of the chosen path.

Frightened by Lucien's success, the two noble ladies spring into action. The young Duke de Retore quickly gropes for the poet's weak string - ambition. If a young man wants to rightfully bear the name de Rubempre, he must move from the opposition camp to the royalist camp. Lucien takes this bait. A conspiracy is being drawn up against him, because the interests of many people converge: Florina is eager to get around Coralie, Lousteau is jealous of Lucien's talent, Nathan is angry with his critical article, Blondet wants to besiege a competitor. Having betrayed the liberals, Lucien gives his enemies a great chance to deal with him - they open aimed fire at him, and in confusion he makes several fatal mistakes. Coralie becomes the first victim: having driven Camuso away and indulging all the whims of her beloved, she comes to complete ruin, when hired claqueurs take up arms against her, falls ill from grief and loses her engagement in the theater.

Meanwhile, Lucien had to resort to meanness in order to ensure the success of his beloved - in exchange for laudatory reviews, he was ordered to "kill" d'Artez's book. The magnanimous Daniel forgives his former friend, but Michel Chrétien, the most adamant of all the members of the circle, spits in Lucien's face, and then puts a bullet in his chest in a duel. Coralie and her maid Berenice selflessly look after the poet. There is absolutely no money: bailiffs describe the property of the actress, and Lucien is threatened with arrest for debts. By forging the signature of David Sechard, he takes into account three bills for a thousand francs each, and this allows the lovers to hold out for several more months.

In August 1822 Corali dies at the age of nineteen. Lucien has only eleven sous left, and he writes funny songs for two hundred francs - only with these vaudeville couplets can one pay for the funeral of an unfortunate actress. The provincial genius has nothing else to do in the capital - destroyed and trampled, he returns to Angouleme. Lucien has to walk most of the way. He enters his native land on the back of a carriage in which the new prefect of Charente Sixte du Chatelet and his wife, the former Madame de Bergeton, who managed to become a widow and remarry, travel. Only a year and a half had passed since Louise took the happy Lucien to Paris.

The poet returned home at the moment when his son-in-law was on the edge of the abyss. David is forced to hide in order not to go to prison - in the provinces such a misfortune means the last degree of a fall. It happened in the following way. The Cuente brothers, who had long been eager to seize Sechar's printing house and learned about his invention, bought back the bills forged by Lucien. Using the flaws of the judicial system, which allows you to drive the debtor into a corner, they brought the three thousand francs presented for payment to fifteen - an amount unthinkable for Séchard. David was besieged from all sides: he was betrayed by the compositor Cerise, whom he himself taught the printing business, and the miserly father refused to help his son out, despite all the pleas of Eve. It is not surprising that mother and sister greet Lucien very coldly, and this greatly offends the conceited young man who was once their idol. He assures that he will be able to help David by resorting to the intercession of Madame de Chatelet, but instead he unwittingly betrays his son-in-law, and he is taken into custody right on the street. The Cuente brothers immediately conclude an agreement with him: he will be granted freedom if he cedes all rights to the production of cheap paper and agrees to sell the printing house to the traitor Cerise. On this, David's misadventures ended: having given his wife an oath to forget about his experiences forever, he bought a small estate, and the family found peace. After the death of old Sechard, the young inherited two hundred thousand francs. The eldest of the Quente brothers, who had become unheard of rich thanks to David's invention, became a peer of France.

Only after David's arrest does Lucien realize what he's done. Reading the curse in the eyes of his mother and sister, he firmly decides to commit suicide and goes to the banks of the Charente. Here he meets with a mysterious priest: after listening to the story of the poet, the stranger offers to postpone suicide - it's never too late to drown yourself, but first it would be worth teaching those gentlemen who expelled the young man from Paris. When the demon-tempter promises to pay David's debts, Lucien casts away all doubts: from now on, he will belong in body and soul to his savior, Abbot Carlos Herrera. The events that followed this pact are described in the novel The Shine and Poverty of the Courtesans.

To harbor illusions is the fate of provincials. Lucien Chardon was from Angouleme. His father, a simple apothecary, in 1793 miraculously saved the maiden de Rubempre, the last representative of this noble family, from the scaffold, and thereby received the right to marry her. Their children, Lucien and Eva, inherit the wondrous beauty of their mother.
Chardonnay lived in great need, but Lucien was helped to his feet by his best friend, the owner of the printing house, David Sechard. These young men were born for great accomplishments, but Lucien overshadowed David with the brilliance of talents and dazzling appearance - he was a handsome man and a poet.
The local socialite Madame de Bergeton drew attention to him and began to invite him to her house, to the great displeasure of the arrogant local nobility. More than others, Baron Sixte du Chatelet was vicious - a man without roots, but who managed to make a career and had his own views on Louise de Bergeton, who gave a clear preference to a talented young man.
And David passionately fell in love with Eva, and she answered him in return, guessing in this thick-set typographer a deep mind and an elevated soul. True, David's financial situation was unenviable: his own father actually robbed him, selling the old printing house at a clearly inflated price and ceding a patent for publishing a newspaper to competitors, the Cuente brothers, for a hefty bribe.
However, David hoped to get rich by discovering the secret of producing cheap paper. This was how things stood when an event occurred that decided the fate of Lucien: one of the local noblemen, having found him on his knees before Louise, trumpeted this throughout the city and ran into a duel - Madame de Bergeton ordered the obedient old husband to punish the offender.
But from that moment on, life in Angouleme became disgusting to her: she decided to leave for Paris, taking the charming Lucien with her. The ambitious young man neglected his sister's wedding, knowing that everyone would forgive him. Eva and David gave their brother the last money - he had to live on them for two years.

In the capital, the paths of Lucien and Madame de Bergeton diverged - provincial love, unable to withstand the first contact with Paris, quickly grew into hatred.

The Marquise d'Espard, one of the most influential ladies of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, did not refuse the patronage of her cousin, but demanded the removal of the ridiculous youth, whom she had the stupidity to bring with her.
Lucien, comparing his “divine” Louise with secular beauties, was already ready to cheat on her - but then, through the efforts of the Marquise and the ubiquitous Sixt du Chatelet, he was expelled from decent society with disgrace.
The unfortunate poet had high hopes for the collection of sonnets "Daisies" and the historical novel "The Archer of Charles IX" - it turned out that Paris is full of its own rhymes and hacks, and therefore it is extremely difficult for a novice author to break through. Having foolishly squandered all the money, Lucien hides in a hole and begins to work: he reads a lot, writes, and thinks.

In a cheap student canteen, he meets two young people - Daniel d'Artez and Etienne Lousteau. The fate of the weak-willed poet depends on what choice he makes. At first, Lucien is attracted to Daniel, a brilliant writer who works in silence, despising worldly fuss and momentary glory.

Daniel's friends, albeit with hesitation, accept Lucien into their circle. Equality reigns in this chosen society of thinkers and artists: young men selflessly help each other and warmly welcome any good luck of a brother. But they are all in poverty, and Lucien is attracted by the brilliance of power and wealth.
And he converges with Etienne - a seasoned journalist who has long parted with illusions about loyalty and honor.
Thanks to the support of Lousteau and his own talent, Lucien becomes an employee of a liberal newspaper.

He quickly learns the power of the press: as soon as he mentions his grievances, his new friends begin a campaign of ruthless persecution - from issue to issue, they amuse the audience with stories about the adventures of "Otter" and "Heron", in which everyone easily recognizes Madame de Bergeton and Sixte du Chatelet. Before Lucien's eyes, the gifted novelist Raoul Nathan bows low to the influential critic Émile Blondet.

Journalists are courted in every possible way behind the scenes of theaters - the failure or success of the play depends on the review of the performance. The most terrible thing happens when newspapermen attack their victim with the whole pack - a person who has fallen under such shelling is doomed.
Lucien quickly learns the rules of the game: he is assigned to scribble a "peddling" article about Nathan's new book - and he lives up to the expectations of his colleagues, although he himself considers this novel excellent. From now on, poverty is over: the poet is well paid, and the young actress Coralie falls passionately in love with him. Like all her friends, she has a wealthy patron - the silk merchant Camuso.
Lousteau, who lives with Florina, uses other people's money without a twinge of conscience - Lucien follows his example, although he is well aware that it is shameful to be supported by the actress. Coralie dresses her lover from head to toe. The hour of celebration comes - on the Champs Elysees everyone admires the beautiful, exquisitely dressed Lucien. The Marquise d'Espard and Madame Bergeton are stunned by this miraculous transformation, and the young man is finally confirmed in the correctness of the chosen path.

Frightened by Lucien's success, the two noble ladies spring into action. The young Duke de Retore quickly gropes for the weakest string of the poet - ambition. If a young man wants to rightfully bear the name de Rubempre, he must move from the opposition camp to the royalist camp. Lucien takes this bait.
A conspiracy is being drawn up against him, because the interests of many people converge: Florina is eager to get around Coralie, Lousteau is jealous of Lucien's talent, Nathan is angry with his critical article, Blondet wants to besiege a competitor.
Having betrayed the liberals, Lucien gives his enemies a great chance to deal with him - they open aimed fire at him, and in confusion he makes several fatal mistakes.

Coralie becomes the first victim: having driven Camuso away and indulging all the whims of her beloved, she comes to complete ruin, when hired clackers turn on her, she falls ill from grief and loses her engagement in the theater.

Meanwhile, Lucien had to resort to meanness in order to ensure the success of his beloved - in exchange for laudatory reviews, he was ordered to "kill" d'Artez's book.
The magnanimous Daniel forgives his former friend, but Michel Chrétien, the most adamant of all the members of the circle, spits in Lucien's face, and then puts a bullet in his chest in a duel. Coralie and her maid Berenice selflessly look after the poet.
There is absolutely no money: bailiffs describe the property of the actress, and Lucien is threatened with arrest for debts. By forging the signature of David Séchard, he counts three bills for a thousand francs each, and this allows the lovers to hold out for several more months.

In August 1822 Corali dies at the age of nineteen. Lucien has only eleven sous left, and he writes funny songs for two hundred francs - only with these vaudeville couplets can one pay for the funeral of an unfortunate actress.

The provincial genius has nothing else to do in the capital - destroyed and trampled, he returns to Angouleme. Lucien has to walk most of the way.
He enters his native land on the back of a carriage in which the new prefect of Charente Sixte du Chatelet and his wife, the former Madame de Bergeton, who managed to become a widow and remarry, travel. Only a year and a half had passed since Louise took the happy Lucien to Paris.
The poet returned home at the moment when his son-in-law was on the edge of the abyss. David is forced to hide in order not to go to prison - in the provinces such a misfortune means the last degree of the fall. It happened in the following way. The Cuente brothers, who had long been eager to seize Sechar's printing house and learned about his invention, bought back the bills forged by Lucien.

Using the flaws of the judicial system, which allows you to drive the debtor into a corner, they brought the three thousand francs presented for payment to fifteen - an amount unthinkable for Séchard. David was besieged from all sides: he was betrayed by the compositor Cerise, whom he himself taught the printing business, and the miserly father refused to help his son out, despite all the pleas of Eve.

It is not surprising that mother and sister greet Lucien very coldly, and this greatly offends the conceited young man who was once their idol. He assures that he will be able to help David by resorting to the intercession of Madame de Chatelet, but instead he involuntarily betrays his son-in-law, and he is taken into custody right on the street.
The Cuente brothers immediately conclude an agreement with him: he will be granted freedom if he cedes all rights to the production of cheap paper and agrees to sell the printing house to the traitor Cerise. On this, David's misadventures ended: having given his wife an oath to forget about his experiences forever, he bought a small estate, and the family found peace.
After the death of old Sechard, the young inherited two hundred thousand francs. The eldest of the Quente brothers, who had become unheard of rich thanks to David's invention, became a peer of France.

Only after David's arrest does Lucien realize what he's done. Reading the curse in the eyes of his mother and sister, he firmly decides to commit suicide and goes to the banks of the Charente.

Here he meets with a mysterious priest: after listening to the story of the poet, the stranger offers to postpone suicide - it's never too late to drown yourself, but first it would be worth teaching those gentlemen who expelled the young man from Paris.
When the demon-tempter promises to pay David's debts, Lucien casts away all doubts: from now on, he will belong in body and soul to his savior, Abbot Carlos Herrera. The events that followed this pact are described in the novel The Shine and Poverty of the Courtesans.

"Lost Illusions": an analysis of the novel and the main characters

Balzac worked on the novel Lost Illusions for a very long time, from 1837 to 1843. This is one of his broadest epic canvases about modern society.
Although outwardly the center of the plot seems to be a limited and well-defined public sphere - the world of writers and journalists, the novel absorbed all of Balzac's previous observations on the laws of bourgeois society; in the polyphony of the work, many topics that Balzac touched upon earlier sound.

Already the beginning of the novel, as it were, introduces us to a familiar circle of topics. Balzac talks about the old Sechard, the tight-fisted owner of a printing house in the provincial town of Angouleme, and describes in detail how the old man decided to involve his educated, talented son David in the business.
But he involves him with only one purpose - to use his knowledge, so much so that he also cheats at the same time.
For old Sechard, his own son is just an advantageous partner in business, and such a partner who can be easily circled around his finger, because David is still young, noble and imprudent.

Reading this story, we can already recall a number of similar situations from Balzac's previous works: in Gobsek, the Countess de Resto tried to rob her own children, deprive them of their legitimate inheritance; in Eugenie Grande, a father ruins his daughter's life for money; in Père Goriot, on the other hand, the daughters rob and take their father to the grave; and now the father is trying to rob his son. It is quite obvious that Balzac varies the same situation, clearly seeing a certain regularity in it. This pattern in the disintegration, destruction of family ties - between children and parents, between spouses - is the same story of the de Resto family in Gobsek, when the count-father tries to protect the future of his children from the greed of his mother; the story "Colonel Chabert" tells about another such marital drama - the Napoleonic Colonel Chabert, who was considered dead, is actually alive; he tries to achieve justice, to regain his name and former position, but his wife, who has already married another, not only renounces the colonel, but also in the most heartless way, playing on his nobility, deceives him.

This is how it turns out that family, blood, family ties are being replaced by purely monetary interest. Just as in ancient times historians record, say, the change of matriarchy and clan system by patriarchy and feudalism, so in the works of Balzac one can observe this new important shift in social relations in the bourgeois age.
There is another cross-cutting, though at first glance, more private theme in the novel - the relationship between the provincial and Paris. Both Balzac and Stendhal, as a rule, are interested not just in the history of a young man, but in the history of a young man from the provinces! Such is Julien Sorel, such is Rastignac in Père Goriot, such is Lucien Chardon, the hero of Lost Illusions.
But the theme does not stop on Balzac, it will be picked up by A. Musset in his short stories, Flaubert in Madame Bovary and in The Education of the Senses. Here, obviously, in addition to the desire to achieve fame and significance precisely from obscurity, there is another, definite, noticed by the writers of the 19th century. regularity. Balzac helps us to reveal it.

In Lost Illusions, he devotes many pages to describing the provincial life in Angouleme, showing, on the one hand, the amazing narrowness of the spiritual interests of this little world, and on the other hand, the torments of romantic dreamers, idealists in this atmosphere.

Moreover, these spiritual torments are depicted in the most detailed way on the example of women's destinies.
In Lost Illusions it is Madame de Barteton; Lucien, who is leaving for Paris, she says: “When you enter the royal sphere, where high minds rule, remember the unfortunate, destitute of fate, whose mind is exhausted, suffocating under the yoke of moral nitrogen.”
How familiar these words sound to us! Remember: “I am here alone, no one understands me, my mind is exhausted, and I must die silently.”
By the way, this is not just a coincidence! In France, after the Balzac heroine, these complaints are picked up by Emma Bovary; in Russia, Tatiana will be replaced by Turgenev's and then Chekhov's heroines.

The bourgeois age finally pushed the romantic ideal into the provinces, because only there it was still possible to console oneself with the hope that somewhere in the capital, in Paris, there exists a “royal sphere of high minds,” as the Balzacian Madame de Barteton says. But any familiarity with this royal sphere turns out to be fatal for a person - Madame de Barteton, once in Paris, turns into a vain, cold hypocrite.

Balzac's critique of the provinces - and in general this topic in European literature - should not be understood only as a social critique of yet another aspect of bourgeois society.
This critique also captures a deeper spiritual and social shift - here one of the strongest strongholds of romanticism collapses - the principle of "proximity to nature", the Rousseauist dream of escaping from civilization, the dream of the kingdom of patriarchal pristineness.

Balzac's "Scenes of Provincial Life", as a rule, are devoid of any touching admiration of the province, any nostalgic idealization. In the provinces, their own, rural bourgeoisie is growing and operating (“Eugenia Grandet”), there is no less merciless social struggle (“Peasants” ’), and Balzac was one of the first to show the problems of provincial life, which would later become the theme of Maupassant and Chekhov.
The romantic ideal “has no place anywhere” – not only in cities where people “bow their heads before idols and ask for money and chains”, but also in the bosom of nature, in patriarchal towns, in noble nests.
Here it is, the reverse side of bourgeois progress, its victorious march, its spread in breadth! This most bourgeois prose marches victoriously over the earth “on its iron path” and crushes poetry under itself.

And she does this not only as crudely as in the story of Eugenie Grande, but also more subtly - “turning human perfection into the poison of the soul,” as Balzac says about Madame de Barteton.

Undoubtedly, in such an interpretation of the theme of the province, Balzac's own, so to speak, biographical, vulnerability, who was also forced to make his way in the capital on his own, also affected.
That is why, of course, he so persistently records the first humiliations of the provincials upon their arrival in Paris - Rastignac on his first visit to Madame de Beauseant, Lucien Chardon, whom Madame de Barteton neglected as soon as she herself “settled down” in Parisian light.
But behind all this, as we have seen, there is also a deeper generalization characteristic not only of Balzac alone, but of all the literature of those years.
“A Provincial Celebrity in Paris” is a part of a work in which Balzac not only tells about the progressive moral refinement of Lucien - he tells this story against the backdrop of a detailed analysis of the morals of both literary and journalistic circles.

Balzac's picture of these morals is truly shocking. Not only is everything bought and sold here, as is the case everywhere in the bourgeois world, but here everything is still justified from the standpoint of refinement and education.

The Word, the great Logos, thought itself, which has polished itself for centuries in the history of European culture, is now fully armed with this power of its own, using it, trampling itself into the mud. Balzac, I repeat, paints not just a picture of the venality of the bourgeois press, he interprets it as a process of gigantic self-beating, self-abasement of the spirit.
What until recently was considered the holy of holies, the only refuge of the spirit, the great art of the word, which the romantics were so proud of, is here reduced from its heights into the swamp of everyday life. The muse is dragged out onto a newspaper sheet, as if into a fairground.
But less than ten years earlier, the romantic Hugo, in Notre Dame Cathedral, admired the development of printing and the press as the greatest achievements of progress and enlightenment - compared with the Middle Ages.

Lousteau is one of the favorite Balzac types, a kind of "educator" of youth, people who not only recognized, but also completely accepted the laws of the bourgeois world.

Like Vautrem, Lousteau is, of course, a corrupter; but, just like Vautrin, he does his job, relying on seemingly impeccable logic, expressed in Vautrin's formula: "There are no principles, but there are events, there are no laws, but there are circumstances."
The arguments of both Lousteau and Vautrin all proceed from the same postulate: morality, morality is an empty phrase, a fiction, a romantic and groundless fiction. And so, if a person is internally unstable by himself, then as soon as he accepts the premise, he is already powerless against further iron logic.
Lusto utters all tirades in order to persuade Lucien to become a journalist. Let us note at once that for Lusto the concept of "journalism" is identical to the concept of "corruption". He himself cynically defines his profession as "a hired killer of ideas and reputations."

But this is not only his opinion. Lucien's friends, members of the D'Artez circle, fighting for his soul, for their part warn him against journalism for the same reasons. They tell him: "Journalism is a real hell, an abyss of lawlessness, lies, betrayal ...".

However, Lousteau's arguments turn out to be more weighty for Lucien than D'Artez's arguments.
After all, Lousteau, seducing Lucien, stubbornly appeals to his instinct of almost physical self-preservation - either starve to death in obscurity, or sell your pen and become a “proconsul”, a ruler in literature.

And Lucien, a very weak nature, a spineless and vain person, of course, chooses the latter. Thus begins the process of an irreversible and steady decline in the personality, thus begins Lucien's "brilliant disgrace." At first, he still hopes to stay clean in this area.

But for the first time he used his profession to take revenge on his offender, Baron Chatelet, by launching gossip against him in print, and he felt not at all ashamed, but sweet, he tasted from his power the “hit killer of reputations”. The first step has already been taken.

And now that Lucien has embarked on this path, when he has chosen this profession, Lousteau and his friends are already quite easily sculpting him in their own image and likeness.
Now they are already revealing to him the secrets of their craft, not the general principle - "kill the reputation of others in order to create a reputation for themselves", but rather the secrets, the mechanics of such murders.
And Lucien has to go through truly fantastic adventures in this world.
Here Lousteau gives Lucien another task - to disassemble the book of poems by Raoul Nathan, which Lucien himself finds beautiful. Immediately after this, Lousteau advises Lucien to write a now laudatory article about the same book by Nathan (only in a different newspaper and under a different pseudonym), so as not to make an enemy in Nathan, Lucien is again stunned.

But when Lucien agrees to this operation, it turns out that this is not all! Now he is being forced to write another article about Nathan's book and sign with his full name! Lucien is already completely confused, but new friends explain everything to him: “You will criticize the appearance of critics S. and L. and in conclusion you will announce that Nathan’s book is an excellent book of modern times.”

You have probably already noticed that in this story, in fact, it is no longer about the murder of the reputation of the poet Nathan, but about something more, so to speak, ingenious.
Indeed, we have before us, in essence, the same enjoyment of our possibilities, which in another sphere - the sphere of the study of human passions and in the business world - was demonstrated by Gobsek and Grandet! This is a kind of game before us - a game with the possibilities of critical judgment, with the possibilities of thought itself.
Lousteau and his brethren create a kind of apotheosis of the relativity of critical judgment. Here the thought no longer believes in itself - it can be like this now, but in a minute it is completely opposite.

Balzac again draws a sharp line between literature as creativity and journalism, criticism. For him, these phenomena are not only excellent, but also incompatible with each other. Balzac signals the profound change in the very way of thinking that journalism brought with its birth.

Its organic function, according to Balzac, is to relativize, to devalue the entire spiritual life in general. If directly opposite things can be said about one and the same book, then all criteria of artistic values ​​are generally lost.
It turns out that the press is able to “talk” and devalue any phenomenon in the sphere of the spirit!
When Lucien realizes this too, he is already completely ripe for Lusteau's company. If any judgment is relative - why not trade it in this case? There are no principles - there are circumstances. And now he is already rolling down an inclined plane even faster!

This is the story of Lucien: he is already a spineless, weak-willed person who has degraded deeper than Rastignac, although they, as characters, are very close to each other.

Retelling of the novel "Lost Illusions" by Balzac

Lucien Chardon was born in the depths of the French province of Angouleme. His father, an ordinary apothecary, during the revolution saved a certain aristocrat, Mademoiselle du Rubempre, from execution, and thus became the husband of this noble person. From this marriage, the son Lucien and his sister Eva were born, both, growing up, become as attractive in appearance as their mother.
The Chardon family lives in utter poverty, but Lucien is helped by his closest friend David Sechard, who also ambitiously dreams of great feats and achievements.

However, Lucien, unlike his comrade, has amazing beauty and abilities for poetry, so David always tries to modestly stay next to a friend, without attracting special attention to himself.

Young Chardon arouses interest and sympathy among the secular lady Louise de Bergeton, who begins to patronize the young man in every possible way, regularly inviting him to visit her, although representatives of the local aristocratic society do not like this.

More than others, Lucien is opposed by a certain Baron du Chatelet, a man of rather low birth, who, nevertheless, managed to move up the career ladder and connects his plans for the future with Madame de Bergeton. At the same time, David falls passionately in love with Lucien's sister Eva, and the girl reciprocates his feelings.
However, in terms of money, Sechar cannot be called an enviable groom, because his father had previously sold their family printing house for practically nothing to eternal competitors, brothers by the name of Cuente. True, David still does not lose hope of becoming rich, he is constantly busy developing a means for issuing the cheapest possible paper.

One day, one of the Angouleme nobles accidentally sees Lucien kneeling in front of Louise, this gossip immediately becomes known to the whole city.

Madame de Bergeton forces her elderly husband to challenge this nobleman to a duel, but after these events, the woman firmly decides to move to Paris and invites Lucien to go along with her.

Chardon willingly uses the opportunity to move to the capital, not even staying for the marriage of his sister and best friend. David and Eva give him all the funds they have, for which Lucien must spend at least two years in Paris.
Upon arrival in the capital, Chardon and his beloved part almost immediately. One of Louise's relatives, a well-born Marquise, who enjoys influence in Parisian society, is ready to patronize her, but demands the immediate removal of the ridiculous provincial youth who is with Madame de Bergeton.
In turn, Lucien sees much more spectacular and interesting women in the capital than his girlfriend. He is already inclined to find another mistress for himself, but thanks to the Marquise and Baron du Chatelet, who has connections in the metropolitan society, he quickly finds himself completely expelled from the society he desires.

Lucien is trying to publish collections of his poems, he even has a written novel, but he is immediately convinced that there are many such unknown writers in Paris, and it is absolutely impossible for a novice author to break through without serious patrons. The young man squanders all his money in a short time, after which he is forced to constantly be in a wretched rented room, where he diligently reads, writes and reflects on his own life path.

The young man has new acquaintances, including Daniel d'Artez and Etienne Lousteau. Lucien sincerely likes Daniel, a talented writer who devotes all his time and energy to creativity.
There are excellent relations between d'Artez's comrades, friends support each other in every possible way both in moments of success and in periods of failure. However, all these people are very poor, while Chardon dreams of fame and solid funds.
As a result, he finds a common language with Lusteau, an unscrupulous and seasoned journalist who has long since parted with any illusions.

With the help of Etienne, Lucien gets a job in a liberal newspaper, and his colleagues, wanting to avenge the young man's previous insults, begin to persecute the Baron du Chatelet and Madame de Bergeton in their publication.

Although these people are presented in feuilletons under other names, the public can easily understand who they are really talking about. Chardon also notices how much writers, even the most gifted, depend on the favor of critics.
Soon he himself is assigned to write a “destructive” article about the book of one of the famous authors, and Lucien does an excellent job with this task, although deep down he considers this work wonderful.
Soon, the former provincial forgets about the difficult, penniless times, his service in the editorial office is well paid, besides, a charming young actress named Coralie falls in love with him. This girl, like all her stage companions, enjoys the patronage of the wealthy merchant Camuso.

Etienne Lousteau, without any embarrassment, resorts to the money of his beloved Florine, Lucien behaves in the same way, although he feels some sense of shame at the same time.

Coralie buys luxurious outfits for her lover, and on the Champs Elysees, Louise de Bergeton and her relative, the Marquise d'Espard, are simply shocked at how the former uncouth native of Angouleme now looks and holds.
The ladies decide to destroy Lucien without fail and deprive him of any chance of further success. Their friend, the Duke de Retoret, tells the young man that in order to carry the aristocratic surname du Rubampre, which was maiden by Lucien's mother, he should go to the royalist camp, leaving the oppositionists.
Chardon agrees with this opinion, unaware that a real conspiracy has already been drawn up against him.

Florine, Etienne's girlfriend, wants to surpass her constant rival Coralie, Lousteau is extremely jealous of him, the writer, whose book Lucien sharply criticized, harbors a grudge against him, and all these people seek to settle scores with the novice journalist.

Coralie, having parted with her patron, and trying in every possible way to please her lover, is completely ruined, the girl falls ill from grief and loses her job in the theater.
At the same time, Chardon is forced to come out with sharp attacks on the novel of his former comrade Daniel, he has no other way to ensure Coralie's successful performances.
D'Artez does not make claims to Lucien, but his friend named Chrétien challenges Chardon to a duel and inflicts a rather severe wound on him.

Lucien's girlfriend Coralie faithfully looks after him, but these two have absolutely no money left, all the property of the actress is subject to an inventory, and Chardon is threatened with imprisonment due to debts. In desperation, the young man forges the signature of his son-in-law, David Sechard, on the bills, which gives him and his girlfriend some reprieve.

Soon the actress dies at the age of 19, and Lucien has to write funny couplets to pay for her funeral, he no longer has a single sou. Having lost Corali, he is forced to go home on foot, believing that he has absolutely nothing to do in Paris. At the entrance to Angouleme, he meets his former lover Louise, who managed to become a widow and become the wife of the Baron du Chatelet.
At home, Lucien learns that David is in a difficult situation, he can be put under arrest at any moment.
His old competitors, the Cuente brothers, bought back the bills forged by David's old friend, and presented for payment a huge sum of 15 thousand francs for Séchard.

The stingy father refused to help his son, despite all the requests of David's wife Eve. Because of these circumstances, the mother and sister extremely coldly meet Lucien, who was previously dearly beloved by them.

Chardon tries to help out his son-in-law, but due to his accidental mistake, Sechar falls into the hands of the police directly on the street. Competitors promise to forgive debts if he gives them all the rights to issue cheap paper. David willingly agrees to this deal, after being released, he and Eva buy a small house, intending to live peacefully and quietly from now on, without any new experiments.
However, after the arrest of Sechard, Lucien feels that the closest people, his sister and mother, look at him with hatred, and the young man intends to commit suicide, seeing no other way out for himself.
On the bank of the river, the young man meets a certain clergyman who persuades him to at least postpone suicide. According to the churchman, one should take revenge on those who so ruthlessly expelled Lucien from the capital.

In addition, this man, who introduced himself as Abbot Carlos Herrera, promises Chardon to pay all his debts, and the young man promises devoted service throughout his life to the mysterious savior.

Roman (1835-1843) Having illusions is the fate of provincials. Lucien Chardon was from Angouleme. His father, a simple apothecary, in 1793 miraculously saved the maiden de Rubempre, the last representative of this noble family, from the scaffold, and thereby received the right to marry her. Their children, Lucien and Eva, inherit the wondrous beauty of their mother. Chardonnay lived in great need, but Lucien was helped to his feet by his best friend, the owner of the printing house, David Sechard. These young men were born for great accomplishments, but Lucien overshadowed David with the brilliance of talents and dazzling appearance - he was a handsome man and a poet. The local socialite Madame de Bergeton drew attention to him and began to invite him to her house, to the great displeasure of the arrogant local nobility. More than others, Baron Sixte du Chatelet was vicious - a man without roots, but who managed to make a career and had his own views on Louise de Bergeton, who gave a clear preference to a talented young man. And David passionately fell in love with Eva, and she answered him in return, guessing in this thick-set typographer a deep mind and an elevated soul. True, David's financial situation was unenviable: his own father actually robbed him, selling the old printing house at a clearly inflated price and ceding a patent for publishing a newspaper to competitors, the Cuente brothers, for a hefty bribe. However, David hoped to get rich by discovering the secret of producing cheap paper. This was how things stood when an event occurred that decided the fate of Lucien: one of the local noblemen, having found him on his knees before Louise, trumpeted this throughout the city and ran into a duel - Madame de Bergeton ordered the obedient old husband to punish the offender. But from that moment on, life in Angouleme became disgusting to her: she decided to leave for Paris, taking the charming Lucien with her. The ambitious young man neglected his sister's wedding, knowing that everyone would forgive him. Eva and David gave their brother the last money - he had to live on them for two years. In the capital, the paths of Lucien and Madame de Bergeton diverged - provincial love, unable to withstand the first contact with Paris, quickly grew into hatred. The Marquise d'Espard, one of the most influential ladies of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, did not refuse to patronize her cousin, but demanded to remove the ridiculous youth whom she had the stupidity to bring with her. Lucien, comparing his "divine" Louise with secular beauties, already he was ready to cheat on her - but then, through the efforts of the Marquise and the ubiquitous Sixte du Chatelet, he was expelled in disgrace from decent society. The unfortunate poet had high hopes for the collection of sonnets "Daisies" and the historical novel "The Archer of Charles IX" - it turned out that Paris was full of his rhymes and hacks, and therefore it is extremely difficult for a novice author to break through. Having foolishly squandered all the money, Lucien hides in a hole and begins to work: he reads a lot, writes, and thinks. In a cheap student canteen, he meets two young people - Daniel d "Artez and Etienne Lousteau. The fate of a weak-willed poet depends on what choice he makes. At first, Lucien is attracted to Daniel, a brilliant writer who works in silence, despising worldly fuss and momentary glory.Daniel's friends, albeit with hesitation, accept Lucien into their circle.Equality reigns in this select society of thinkers and artists: young men selflessly help each other and warmly welcome any good luck of their brother.But they all live in poverty, and Lucien is attracted by the brilliance of power and wealth. And he converges with Etienne - a seasoned journalist who has long parted with illusions of loyalty and honor. Thanks to the support of Lousteau and his own talent, Lucien becomes an employee of a liberal newspaper. He quickly learns the power of the press: as soon as he mentions his grievances, as his new friends begin a campaign of ruthless persecution - from room to room they amuse the audience with stories about yakh "Otters" and "Herons", in which everyone easily recognizes Madame de Bergeton and Sixte du Chatelet. Before Lucien's eyes, the gifted novelist Raoul Nathan bows low to the influential critic Émile Blondet. Journalists are courted in every possible way behind the scenes of theaters - the failure or success of the play depends on the review of the performance. The most terrible thing happens when newspapermen attack their victim with the whole pack - a person who has fallen under such shelling is doomed. Lucien quickly learns the rules of the game: he is assigned to scribble a "peddling" article about Nathan's new book - and he lives up to the expectations of his colleagues, although he himself considers this novel excellent. From now on, poverty is over: the poet is well paid, and the young actress Coralie falls passionately in love with him. Like all her friends, she has a wealthy patron, the silk merchant Camuso. Lousteau, who lives with Florina, uses other people's money without a twinge of conscience - Lucien follows his example, although he is well aware that it is shameful to be supported by the actress. Coralie dresses her lover from head to toe. The hour of celebration comes - on the Champs Elysees everyone admires the beautiful, exquisitely dressed Lucien. The Marquise d'Espard and Madame Bergeton are stunned by this miraculous transformation, and the young man finally establishes himself in the correctness of the chosen path. Frightened by Lucien's success, both noble ladies begin to act. The young Duke de Retoret quickly gropes for the poet's weak string - ambition. If a young man wants to rightfully bear the name de Rubempre, he must move from the opposition camp to the royalist camp. Lucien takes this bait. A conspiracy is being drawn up against him, because the interests of many people converge: Florina is eager to get around Coralie, Lousteau is jealous of Lucien's talent, Nathan is angry with his critical article, Blondet wants to besiege a competitor. Having betrayed the liberals, Lucien gives his enemies a great chance to deal with him - they open aimed fire at him, and in confusion he makes several fatal mistakes. Coralie becomes the first victim: having driven Camuso away and indulging all the whims of her beloved, she comes to complete ruin, when hired clackers turn on her, she falls ill from grief and loses her engagement in the theater. Meanwhile, Lucien had to resort to meanness in order to ensure the success of his beloved - in exchange for laudatory reviews, he was ordered to “kill” the book of d "Artez. The magnanimous Daniel forgives his former friend, but Michel Chretien, the most adamant of all members of the circle, spits in Lucien's face, and then puts a bullet in his chest in a duel. Coralie and her servant Berenice selflessly court the poet. There is absolutely no money: the bailiffs describe the property of the actress, and Lucien is threatened with arrest for debts. Having forged the signature of David Séchard, he takes into account three bills for a thousand francs each Coralie dies at the age of nineteen in August 1822. Lucien has only eleven sous left, and he writes merry songs for two hundred francs - only with these vaudeville couplets can one pay for the funeral of an unfortunate actress. there is nothing more to do in the capital - destroyed and trampled, he returns to Angouleme. There is a way Lucien has to walk. He enters his native land on the back of a carriage in which the new prefect of Charente Sixte du Chatelet and his wife, the former Madame de Bergeton, who managed to become a widow and remarry, travel. Only a year and a half had passed since Louise took the happy Lucien to Paris. The poet returned home at the moment when his son-in-law was on the edge of the abyss. David is forced to hide in order not to go to prison - in the provinces such a misfortune means the last degree of the fall. It happened in the following way. The Cuente brothers, who had long been eager to seize Sechar's printing house and learned about his invention, bought back the bills forged by Lucien. Using the flaws of the judicial system, which allows you to drive the debtor into a corner, they brought the three thousand francs presented for payment to fifteen - an amount unthinkable for Séchard. David was besieged from all sides: he was betrayed by the compositor Cerise, whom he himself taught the printing business, and the miserly father refused to help his son out, despite all the pleas of Eve. It is not surprising that mother and sister greet Lucien very coldly, and this greatly offends the conceited young man who was once their idol. He assures that he will be able to help David by resorting to the intercession of Madame de Chatelet, but instead he involuntarily betrays his son-in-law, and he is taken into custody right on the street. The Cuente brothers immediately conclude an agreement with him: he will be granted freedom if he cedes all rights to the production of cheap paper and agrees to sell the printing house to the traitor Cerise. On this, David's misadventures ended: having given his wife an oath to forget about his experiences forever, he bought a small estate, and the family found peace. After the death of old Sechard, the young inherited two hundred thousand francs. The eldest of the Quente brothers, who had become unheard of rich thanks to David's invention, became a peer of France. Only after David's arrest does Lucien realize what he's done. Reading the curse in the eyes of his mother and sister, he firmly decides to commit suicide and goes to the banks of the Charente. Here he meets with a mysterious priest: after listening to the story of the poet, the stranger offers to postpone suicide - it's never too late to drown yourself, but first it would be worth teaching those gentlemen who expelled the young man from Paris. When the demon-tempter promises to pay David's debts, Lucien casts away all doubts: from now on, he will belong in body and soul to his savior, Abbot Carlos Herrera. The events that followed this pact are described in the novel The Shine and Poverty of the Courtesans.